Gil walked uncomfortably, on guard of his surroundings and keeping his extremities tight to his body. He looked around, feeling pricked by the odd stares coming at him from all around.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me? It wasn’t like this yesterday.” Gil pondered to himself.

Lively chatting filled the massive guild hall, packed full of merchants, adventures, mercenaries, and everyone in between. Many different types of life forms talked business or joked around with each other as usual in the enormous crowded area.

However, some tried to subtly point Gil out to the others around them. All the smirks and subtle whispers made him self-conscious. Gil could not help but stare back, but not for the same reason as his onlookers.

He was still shocked at the sight of sentient non-humans. Though, his reaction was not as bad as his first time yesterday. His mind practically collapsed, and he blankly froze from seeing all the new races.

Having seen enough of the mysterious life forms, some humanoid-like and others not, Gil ignored the uneasy feeling from all around. He picked up his pace, speed walking from the entrance through the ever-crowded hall. He dodged, sifting around the different parties donned in various forms of armor and weapons, trying to make his way to the receptionist counter.

The guild was a towering five floors high. Gil knew because he could see the upper floors all the way up to the enormous skylight on the high ceilings of the structure, letting in the beaming morning light. All of the upper floors curved around the center of the building with partially open hallways, allowing visibility down at the heart of the grand reception area on the first floor.

The massive hall was divided into four main areas in a “t” shape.

A giant magically illuminated quest board stood in the center of the massive room, splitting into sections with different categories organized by ranks and rewards for tasks waiting to be completed. This zone had the most people, standing all around the display. However, there were too many people for everyone to be able to look directly at the quest board.

Instead, those farther away opened up a connection interface by swiping down in the air. The quest board was able to identify the motion, popping up glowing translucent blue screens. All those around meticulously scrolled through the list of available quests, looking for their next job.

The area off to the right further subdivided into two areas: one, filled with lines of adventurers waiting to turn in their quests and to receive their rewards, and the other, for anyone wanting to buy or sell items to the guild.

Right behind the quest board was the loudest and most busy area of the first floor, also further split into two sections. Many adventurers competitively shouted out bids at a stage where a guild member auctioned off popular but limited quests. All quests needing to be auctioned listed requirements, information, and dates on their posts, giving ample time to potential takers to review and decide on their bids. The second half of the area held adventurers registering their quests, taken from the quest board or from direct requests for well-established parties.

On the left side was the least busy area, but still full of people nonetheless. Many like Gil and the non-adventurers filled the place. Those registering to be new adventurers, but mainly those posting quests, lined up in the last of the four main areas of the guild.

Only the center area was exposed to the upper floors. The two areas on the sides were covered beneath the ceilings of the next floor.

Gil looked up at the signage hanging down from the ceiling.

“Registration for new adventures,” Gil read.

“Looks like I’m at the right spot this time, I think,” Gil said, scratching the back of his tilted head.

He wasn’t sure.

He arrived in town yesterday at dusk and entered the guild at one of its busiest hours. Many rushed to turn in their tasks and to peer at any new posts on the quest board. He asked someone for help. But when he explained that he came from the forest, they directed him to the counter to exchange for rewards, assuming that he was an odd noobie adventurer who completed a quest.

Gil was in a shabby state yesterday. His clothes were disheveled, and he was exhausted. He mindlessly followed their advice with a bow of his head in a show of thanks before dragging himself to the edge of the crowd of adventurers.

The endless line stretched and coiled like a snake in a maze. Being last in line and fatigued with the accumulated day’s worth of troubles, he decided to lean against the wall and temporarily rest his eyes. But the next thing he knew was Angus abruptly and rudely waking him with a kick last night.

“Definitely should be the right area, right? I pray I don’t meet that bundle of chaos called Darla,” Gil swung his head around, looking, making sure she was not at the counters.

Relieved, he thought about his previous day.

“The lead knight at the gates told me to head to the adventurers guild for more information. About what exactly, I don’t know. But, I don't want to register with the guild. Hopefully maybe I can post a request to help me get back home? Would the guild accept such a request?”

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Gil clenched his fist, feeling apprehensive. But he was reminded by the token Angus gave him and his instructions. He looked down at his clenched fist and cleared his messy inner thoughts.

“Ang’s right. I need to be able to survive first if I want to go home. I need to swap this token for the three skills Ang mentioned. Not sure what that even is, but skills are a good thing, I think?”

He looked at the long winding line of people waiting to place their requests. He wondered if another replay of yesterday’s events would happen if he waited again in a lengthy line. He sure hoped not since he didn’t want another Angus kicking him awake.

“The line for new requests is too long. But why is the line for registering as a new adventurer too short? It’s kind of weird. But I guess that’s a good thing? I think they can help me faster. There was no sign for exchanging tokens, so maybe someone there can help me out instead.”

Gil walked over to the line for registering new members. There were only three people including himself. A receptionist lady called the first man over, while another soon called the second as her client left. Gil waited now first in line, thinking about what to ask.

“Next person in line!” A flaming red-haired receptionist lady in a light yellow robe called out.

Gil broke out of his thoughts and walked over to the waving woman.

“Hello, fellow native. Seeing as you are a noble, you may already be aware of the guild registration procedures. Would you like for me to explain them again?”

Gil tilted his head, giving the lady an odd look. He did not think himself to be even a distant relative of nobility. But the young lady saw his smooth and colorful clothing and assumed he was some sort of young aristocrat.

“Oh, sorry. I’m not a native, nor am I a noble. Actually, I’m not trying to register with the guild either. I was told to redeem something here and collect three skills.”

The lady’s jaw dropped as she looked at Gil with wary eyes, but she quickly restored her professional posture. However, unlike her light tone earlier, her demeanor turned icy cold.

“I see. An irregular otherworlder. Still popping up like weeds at this time of year. That is unusual, but not unheard of. Most higher beings forcefully break the barriers between worlds in the winter and send their contractors when the barriers are at their weakest. Your god must be desperate for resources.”

Gil looked at the lady with wide eyes, being innocently accused of something he did not even know or understand. He felt the woman, who stood unmoved and a head lower than him, become distant and looked down upon him.

“There is nothing I can assist you with. Exchange services are for guild members only. Since I cannot help you, you may leave. The exit is over there.”

Gil was taken aback, aghast at the sudden change in attitude.

“So I can’t exchange this token if I’m not a member?”

Gil opened his hand and showed the lady the token of a sword and book in the palm of his hand. The receptionist stared wide-eyed at the token with Angus’s name on it. She looked back a Gil, once again breaking her composure.

“By the Creator! It’s you! You’re the secret lover!”

The sudden words shook Gil to the core. The lady’s comment confirmed his suspicions. His face turned white as a ghost, now understanding why the others smirked and pointed at him. Though none of them dared to laugh directly in his face out of fear of retaliation from Angus.

The bipolar changes of the woman’s attitude made Gil not know what to think, but he definitely was not going to allow the misunderstanding to continue.

“Who the heck are you calling a secret lover?! There’s nothing like that going on!”

“Oh, I guess it’s not really a secret anymore. Darla sure gave us some big news. Who would have thought? Angus and a male otherworlder of all the possible choices?”

Gil turned from pale white to fuming red to now embarrassed pink.

“I told you it’s nothing like that! And I told that crazy lady Darla that too! Why won’t she believe me?! And why is everyone else going along with it as well!? Ang and I both like women! He ran off last night to meet Heli or something. We have no interest in each other or other men!”

Suddenly, Gil turned pale as a ghost again, voicing the thought crossing his mind.

“Ang’s going to kill me. He told me he’d beat the crap out of me if I told a soul about him lending me his room, and now the whole world knows. It’s even worse with this weird rumor that Darla started. I won’t live to see tomorrow.”

The receptionist felt some pity, looking at the lifeless crestfallen young man before her. Knowing what she understood of Angus, she felt Gil’s prediction was likely to happen. She sighed, seeing the unusual otherworlder before her. Darla told her he was unlike the many other otherworlders, and she now started to think so too.

“You have a week to figure out something. I’ll tell you this much because even though you're an otherworlder, you personally don’t deserve the gruesome death Angus will give you. He’s never gone easy on your kind. Anyway, lucky for you, the Clovers of Fortune took a monster subjugation request from Duke Haleson to the depths of the Endless Forest. They should be close to embarking or should have left already. Angus and his party won't return for at least a week at the earliest. Use this time to figure out something.”

A lightbulb came on in Gil’s head.

“So that’s why Ang gave me a week... Then that means I have to skip town before he comes back.”

“Unfortunately, that won’t be easy. The closest town is about five days by pulled carriage. No offense, but seeing how you don’t seem to have any belongings, nor any rings or bags of holding, I doubt you have the money to travel or pay a party to guide and protect you along the way. “

Gil suddenly felt naked and vulnerable even with his clothes on. The lady looked him over with a piercing gaze, evaluating everything about him. He couldn’t help but cover his lower half when she glanced a tad too long, assessing his goods below.

“Oh? Shy one aren’t you? Most would strut it more. No wonder Angus likes you. He is not fond of the showy types.”

Diana gave Gil a devious look before innocently touching a finger to her lush lips.

“No need to hide. I’ve evaluated plenty. Nothing makes me surprised anymore unless you're Angus. He’s a different breed.”

Gil did not know what to think about the implications of the lady’s admittance. However, it seemed she was not bothered by it. Gil was not sure if it was common here and that he was the weird one.

She glanced over Gil’s scrawny physique and shrugged.

“Also, no offense, but you wouldn’t make it out there by yourself. You look the type in your world who did not deal with much physical labor. Nor did it seem like you trained in anything else either. It is especially more apparent for you to avoid leaving the security of the kingdom walls since you’re likely to be a level zero right now. The Haleson Duchy is surrounded by mountainous terrain and many forests, all domains of savage monsters and worse, all sorts of dangerous sentient beings.”

The receptionist shook her head, giving Gil a grim look but smirked with a weird gleam in her eyes.

“With your low level and poor physique, you might as well beg for mercy from Angus instead. Your survival rate outside the city walls right now is zero. If you’re lucky, he might spare you and leave you with only some broken bones. After that, you two can kiss and make up. The guild can heal and mend your bones at a cost, but at least you won’t be dead, and you can then rely on Angus.”

Gil took the lady seriously until she uttered the last half of her advice.

“Can’t you stop poking a dead horse? Nothing of the sort is ever going to happen. So stop the nonsense. It’s no longer funny.”

“Why so serious? I was partially joking. But it’s true. Depending on Angus would be your best bet for survival.”

Gil huffed back, “Absolute nonsense. He will be the death of me if we ever cross paths again. Is there no other way?”